An explosion sent me flying.
For what seemed like an eternity, I could see nothing but a blurry version of what had been the room I was standing in moments before and heard only a high pitched whine - the sound of my ears crying out in agony - to accompany it. As I struggled to remain conscious, my mind was racing with a thousand panicked thoughts. But even that was not enough to keep myself in a conscious state, as I eventually felt myself slipping away into a world of darkness.
~ Three days earlier ~
The sound of sophisticated laughter filled the foyer of the first floor of Tenpony Tower. The many ponies roaming around were forming small groups, each discussing a different subject ranging from shameless gossip concerning their fellow inhabitants to the latest news from outside the tower's walls. Mares wearing pre-war dresses were taking polite sips from their drinks while stallions in suits of various colors were enjoying their cigars. If one had never witnessed the world outside, it would be hard to believe an apocalyptic event had taken place in these lands over one hundred and forty years ago. Tenpony tower was a bastion of sophistication and high class. It had been for years. A community shielded from the wastes populated by ponies who had no chance of ever surviving outside of these walls.
Of course, not all who lived here were willing to lock themselves up their entire lives. My name is Sweet Clover, daughter and sole heir of Calvary Clover.
"Lady Clover, you look well. It is a pleasure to see you have returned home in one piece."
The stallion addressing me as I entered the foyer was no stranger to me. A friend of my father with ties to several caravan companies in the wasteland. Not exactly an unimportant figure. Beside him stood several other lords and ladies whom I recognized. I gave them all a polite nod and focused on the stallion with a small smile. "The pleasure is all mine of course, lord Bolt. I do hope I am not interrupting anything important."
Lord Bolt shook merely his head. "Mere whispers and tales from the west, my dear. Nothing a young lady like yourself should worry herself about. Is there something you require?"
I quickly glanced at the other ponies, then focused back on him. "Could we... speak in confidence? I wish to discuss some private matters."
He nodded and excused himself, offering a hoof as we walked away from the group to a quieter corner of the exquisite room. "What is this about, dear?"
I glanced around us, making certain that nopony was standing near enough to listen in. Paranoid perhaps, but paranoia was not often misplaced in the wasteland. Tenpony Tower was no different, as much as it tried to look like it was.
"I require access to the caravan maps of the area around the Neighara Falls."
He blinked in surprise and gave me an inquisitive look. I took that as a positive sign as it meant he must have been unaware about what lied in that area.
"Why?"
"I wish to consult them to aid with an investigation I am performing."
He didn't seem appeased by the vague reasoning. "An 'investigation'? I do hope you are not planning something reckless. What are you looking for, Sweet?"
"I'm afraid that my reasons are my own, lord Bolt."
"Now, are you certain-"
I cut him off, nodding curtly. "Yes. I’m quite certain. I do apologize for being so hasty, but time is of the essence and I simply cannot afford to squander too much of it. Now if I may please gain access to the maps?"
Ten minutes later, I unlocked the door to lord Bolt's office and entered on my own, closing it behind me and looking around the ornate room. He certainly did not hold back on decorating his workplace.
Without further adue, I began to dig into one of the drawers of his desk. My eyes and mind were set on the prize and nothing would stop me from reaching it.
On the main floor of Tenpony Tower, one could find many services for its inhabitants such as various shops, restaurants and so on. In one of these repurposed rooms you could find Doctor Sfax. Or Sfax M.D.
This middle-aged zebra was one of the medical professionals residing in the tower. His workplace was small, but the stallion used every inch of space wisely. Years of experience in the wasteland had taught him not to be picky when it came to the things you had in life. The day was winding down to an end, not that it had been a busy one. Tenpony Tower was rather safe and clean on the inside when compared to the wasteland, so the majority of his patients were either the guards protecting the tower or visiting merchants and travelers. He hardly complained about the slow days however, because at the end of the day a doctor would always find work in a world like this.
I opened one of the cabinets and looked around inside, spotting the bottle of scotch I was looking for rather quickly. As I took it out and gently set it down on the desk, a few knocks sounded on my door.
"Enter."
The handle twisted around and the door opened, revealing one Sweet Clover. I knew her somewhat well, having treated her father while he was ill some months back. She looked well, wearing a nice yellow dress with a stylish hoofbag to accompany it. She entered the room and closed the door behind her, glancing around the room before settling her eyes on me.
"Good day, doctor Sfax."
"Lady Clover. What can I do for you?"
She stepped over and sat down on the chair opposite of my own. "Your cooperation, doctor. I have been burdened by a task which will send me out in the wastes and will require me recruiting some aid to perform it. You are an experienced doctor and wastelander. I need your help."
I leaned back in my chair and considered her words for a moment before simply shaking my head slowly. "I retired from the wasteland life, young lady."
She nodded and reached into her bag with a hoof, digging around in it for something. "I am aware, you told me as much before."
"Why come to me then? There are other ponies with medical and survival skills in the wasteland. You know I am not available for such matters."
The pegasus mare removed her hoof from her bag, pulling out a brown pouch and offering it to me. I raised a brow and extended a hoof to accept it. I could hear the cluttering of bottlecaps inside.
"... Caps?"
"A part of your payment in advance. Five hundred caps. You will receive another thousand once the task is completed. In return I require utmost secrecy from you regarding this whole matter."
I blinked and glanced inside the pouch filled with caps, then back at her.
"I..."
She extended a hoof again and gave me a confident smile. "Do we have a deal, doctor Sfax?"
The suites of Tenpony Tower were home to many of the residents who were part of the community. While many of these were high class ponies, there were also guards, merchants and others who had earned their way inside by providing services for those in charge. One of these ponies went by the name of Green Glow, a unicorn stallion with a bit of a reputation around Tenpony Tower. Some regarded him as a lecherous hothead, while others took note of his skillset and regarded him as an asset to the community despite his flaws.
My face bore a wide smile as I walked down the hallway of the fourth floor. With doctor Sfax having already agreed to help me out, I was confident that I would be able to convince the next pony I was seeking out to join my cause as well. Arriving at the appropriate door, I lifted my hoof and gave it a few polite knocks.
A muffled 'come in' could be heard from inside, so I twisted the handle and opened up the door where I was met with quite the sight. The room I was faced with was rather dimly lit, smelling of... some scent I couldn't quite place. The only sources of light were the few candles set up around the room as well as rays of evening sunlight penetrating through some of the old curtains covering the windows. Near the back of the room a large bed, which looked like a giant red heart, was set up with four ponies lying on top of it.
Two mares and two stallions.
The rumors certainly weren't exaggerated.
I stepped forward and set my eyes on the unicorn variant of the two stallions. "Good evening, mister Glow."
Green Glow smirked and nodded at me. He had a certain natural ruggedness to him, his mane and coat not quite as well kept as most other inhabitants of Tenpony. Still, he was regarded to possess a natural kind of attractiveness. I couldn't say I disagreed, though such thoughts were quickly banished. I had to keep my eyes on the prize.
"Lady Clover. A good evening to you as well."
I glanced at the other three ponies lying next to him. I recognized them as being guards working for Tenpony Tower. Given the lack of clothing or weaponry, they were clearly not on duty. The looks they were giving Green Glow were also quite telling.
"May I be so bold as to request we speak in private?"
He looked at his companions and nodded, motioning them to leave the room, to which they complied without protest. I could see him quite clearly ogling the three of them as they walked away from the bed and headed outside, leaving the two of us alone to our business.
Shaking his head, Green Glow got up and jumped off of bed, walking over to a nearby table and pouring himself a glass of whiskey. "Some whiskey for you too, my lady?"
I shook my head slowly. "No thank you."
A box of fancy lady snacks levitated in front of me, surrounded by a green magic glow. "Something yummy for the tummy?"
I smiled and politely shook my head again. He shrugged in return and walked back over to the large bed, lying down on it with a relaxed posture. "So, what brings a fancy mare like yourself to a not-so-fancy stallion like me?"
It seemed like he understood that I wanted to get straight to business. "I require your aid with a sensitive matter which will involve heading out into the wastes for an unknown period of time."
He took a sip from his glass and regarded me for a moment. "Elaborate."
"There is a certain building to the northwest of here which contains something I am keen on retrieving. Something personal and precious to my family. Unfortunately, I fear getting to it may prove troublesome -"
"- Which is where I come in," Green Glow added.
I quickly nodded in confirmation. "Which is where you come in."
He seemed to consider my words for a moment before speaking up again. "This 'sensitive matter' of yours... exactly how dangerous will it be?"
"I have consulted some of the maps the caravaneers utilize for navigation. The location of the building is a mere hour away from one of their routes. It does not seem like a particularly dangerous area compared to the rest of the wasteland, but bandits, raiders and other vermin are always a possibility. I'm afraid I cannot provide more insight than this."
"Fair enough. I'm still curious though... about what it is that a mare like you is looking for out there in the wastes."
I gave him a polite smile, hoping he would catch the hint. "As I said before, it’s something precious to my family."
He smirked in response. "That's rather vague, lady Clover."
I felt like I had to put my hoof down sooner rather than later. I wasn't too familiar with Green Glow but I knew he was not the type to be easily scared away from something. "Is vagueness an issue? I could simply leave and ask somepony else to accompany me if it is too upsetting for you to handle."
He simply let out a soft laugh. "That won't be necessary. Tell me your prize and I will consider it."
I smiled and reached into my bags once again, pulling out a brown pouch.
~ Two days and several hours later ~
The sun was bearing down on us mercilessly as we trekked through the barren wastes of post-apocalyptic Equestria. What used to be sprawling grasslands surrounded by groves of trees was now nothing more than a brown and deathly looking field with the occasional rock sticking out of the dry ground. The scent of what I could only assume to be gunpowder filled the heavy air we inhaled. I was no longer wearing my indoor dress, having switched it out for a - if I do say so myself - rather stylish piece of lightly armored barding. It was not quite as protective as power armor, but it did provide some protection while still allowing me some freedom to move. It also did not feel as if there was an adult cow strapped to my back, which was certainly a big plus. Pony strength only got you so far after all.
Doctor Sfax, Green Glow and a male diamond dog who went by the name of Chester were walking behind me as I took the lead. Chester was a member of a smaller breed of diamond dogs and had a mangy brown coat. Not exactly a creature which was pleasing to the eye, but I felt bringing along somebody who could dig well would be a wise move. Diamond dogs were generally not very intelligent in any case, a few gems and some honeyed words were enough to convince him to come along.
A smile crept on my face as I could see the Neighara Falls slowly appearing on the horizon. I had never seen them up close before but I heard they were most impressive, if a bit less clean than a few centuries ago. I turned my head to look at my companions. "We are getting closer to the Falls. Before long we will have reached our destination."
Green Glow pulled the straps of his saddlebags tighter as he trotted along. He too had changed into something more fitting for battle, albeit less fabulous than the barding I was wearing myself.
"How long will this business of yours take, lady Clover?"
I turned my head away again as I bit my bottom lip. "I cannot say for certain. It depends entirely on the state of things present there. With luck, we should be back at Tenpony before the week is over." In truth, I had little idea of what to expect. For all I knew there was nothing left but rubble, which would mean we would have to dig, a time consuming process which could end up ruining the whole thing.
"Longer worktime means more gems for Chester, pony." I could hear the dog lumbering along behind me.
Not bothering to look at him, I simply nodded.
"As I am aware."
It was late in the afternoon when a large weathered mansion came into view, settled in a clearing in some of the woodlands near the falls. The area around the building was surrounded by rusty iron fencing, parts of which were completely destroyed over the years. An iron gate which used to be the main entrance to the estate had been rusted off of its hinges and now lied toppled over on the old cobblestone pathway leading up to the mansion itself. Chester stopped as he sniffed the air several times.
"Is something wrong?" The lady Sweet Clover inquired as she stopped as well to look at the canine.
"Chester smells scent of other ponies. Other ponies in area." He pointed with a finger at the mansion ahead, "There."
The unicorn stallion accompanying us who I knew was called Green Glow chuckled as he unsheathed a large curved blade with his telekinesis. "It seems our lucky streak might have vanished then."
I myself checked my bags and pulled out my mouth operated submachine gun, making sure it was loaded and ready for action while Sweet Clover shot Green Glow a quizzical look. "Our lucky streak?"
"This is the first potential trouble we've encountered so far. I'd say that it has been lady luck smiling on us."
She frowned as we brandished our weapons. "It may simply be caravaneers setting up camp for the night, there is no need to be pessimistic."
I shook my head and spoke up. "Caravaneers would not stray off of the road this far merely to set up camp, lady Clover. We must be prepared for anything. It could be scavengers, but... it could also be bandits using this as their hideout."
Green Glow nodded in agreement and pulled out a grey mechanical device from his bags. I knew what it was. A stealthbuck. Chester sniffed the air again. "No scent of blood. No blood decorations. No raider ponies."
That was a relief, dealing with raiders was always a hassle. They were usually swimming in various drugs like Rage and Dash, meaning basic concepts such as self-preservation were thrown out of the window in favor of pure unadulterated bloodlust. Long term medical consequences were hardly ever a worry for them.
"I will go in first," Green Glow said as he fiddled around with the stealthbuck by using his telekinesis, "the rest of you should approach carefully and use the trees as cover. If whoever is present is hostile, provide me some covering fire and keep them distracted from the blade stuck in their backs, would you?"
I nodded, looking over to Sweet Clover to see how she felt about this. She let out a sigh and reluctantly nodded as well. "Very well then, you are the expert after all, mister Glow."
A soft click could be heard and in an instant Green Glow turned almost completely transparent. The stealthbuck had been activated. He took off moments later, keeping his head low and weaving between the dead, charred trees toward the old mansion. I bit down on the handle of my own submachine gun. It had been a while since I last used it in a combat situation, but I still knew how to operate it properly and bring down a barrage of pain on anybody - ponies or zebras - trying their luck with me. Much to my surprise, lady Clover pulled out a weapon of her own from beneath her dress. A mouth operated recharger pistol which seemed to be in excellent condition. A good choice of a pistol for a pony who lacked the telekinesis and training to quickly reload their weapon during battle.
The three of us started moving from tree to tree, slowly approaching the mansion in the most stealthy way we could.
As it turned out, stealth was not our strong suit.
A loud cracking sound filled the air as a bullet tore into the tree I was skulking behind. I seized up immediately and perked my ears to try and pinpoint where it had come from as I did not dare to peek out from behind my temporary cover. Lady Clover had stopped moving as well, hiding behind a tree several meters to the right of me. Chester seemed to have vanished in thin air, as he was nowhere to be seen. We were close enough to the mansion but I could not hear any voices or movement coming from up ahead. Whoever had fired at us was content to wait us out. The fact that nopony had called out to us was not a good sign either, as it meant that they were not interested in dialogue.
Being pinned down, we had little choice but to wait and pray Green Glow would create us an opening to move again, even though I had seen hide no hair of him since he took off.
Sweet Clover cleared her throat and spoke up loud enough for whoever was up ahead to hear. “We are mere wanderers who are weary after a long day of travel! We seek a place to rest and mean you no harm!"
My right ear twitched as I could hear a snort coming from up ahead. A male voice I did not recognize spoke up. "Piss off lady, this is our fuckin' turf!"
"We can talk this whole matter over and make a deal. We could pay you to provide us shelter for the night!"
Another shot rang out and a bullet impacted the bottom of the tree Clover was taking cover behind, making her gasp in shock before gathering herself again and gritting her teeth. "How about we cease this needless violence and take a moment to calm ourselves? We can come to an agreement here!"
"How about you come over here and choke on my cock, whore!"
Sounds of laughter could be heard from up ahead as Clover scrunched her muzzle at the insult, which ceased as I heard a loud wail and a scream. I quickly peeked from behind the tree, just in time to see an earth pony stallion in leather armor tumbling from one of the building's balconies and landing face-first on the dry ground with a sickening crack. I could hear alarmed shouts now as a unicorn mare ran over from behind cover toward the fallen stallion. I quickly turned my submachine gun towards her and bit down on the trigger, unleashing a spray of bullets which peppered the ground around her. One bullet hit the corpse of the stallion, while another hit the facade of the mansion and yet another hit the mare in the belly. I heard her cry out in pain as I quickly ducked back behind cover.
Sweet Clover, too, saw a chance at returning fire and leaned out from behind cover, shooting a few laser rays from her pistol at one of the windows, forcing the pony I hadn't spotted myself before to duck down and hide. Another alarmed shout sounded from somewhere inside the mansion and moments later a stallion - wearing a battle saddle with two machine guns mounted on it - charged outside through the doors, unloading a barrage of bullets on the trees out front in an attempt to flush us out from cover.
I heard a soft cry of pain coming from the right as Clover clutched her left foreleg and cringed in obvious pain. I was about to call out to her as a jolt of intense pain shot right through my right hind leg. I gritted my teeth and let out a grunt, trying to keep my composure and not giving him any chances at getting another hit in.
The rain of bullets ceased and the sound of something hitting the ground could be heard. I carefully peeked out from behind cover and saw the stallion lying in a mixture of dirt and blood next to a hole in the ground, making slight gurgling noises as he choked on his own blood. Standing over him was Chester, one of his paws looking very bloody after having ripped out the throat of the stallion. Looks like he didn't anticipate someone coming from below him.
Another few gunshots rang out from inside the building, forcing me to quickly take cover once again as I analyzed my hind leg. A bullet had pierced it but luckily didn't make it very far. I only had to pull it out of there somehow…
I looked over to Sweet Clover and saw her still clutching her leg. Some blood had stained onto her barding, but from first glance it did not seem like there was a lot. I grunted again and shifted my position slightly, calling out to her while trying to keep an even voice. "Sweet Clover... how badly are you hurt?"
That seemed to startle her somehow as she looked up and around quickly until settling her eyes on me. She opened her mouth to say something, but it took a moment for her to form any words. "Y-Yes, it's just... j-just a chunk of wood I think... I'm sorry, I guess I was panicking over something minor. Are you...?" she trailed off.
"I'll live, lady Clover. But I will need somepony to pull this bullet out of my leg so I can treat the wound and allow it to heal properly."
Her eyes widened at that. "Can you not just... drink a healing potion?"
I shook my head. "I have no healing potions, but healing powder will heal the wound just as well as long as the bullet is extracted." In truth, I always did prefer healing powder over healing potions. A far more natural alternative to the chemical soup ponies liked to call 'healing potion'. It was a far cheaper alternative as well.
Clover scrunched and emptily stared in front of her for a moment before her face lit up with realization. "Oh!" - she said as she dug into her bags with her healthy hoof - "I brought some healing potions along myself, didn't I?" As she was searching her wounded hoof was clearly visible for me to see. A wooden splinter of about an inch thick had missed the armored part of her leg and buried itself into it, creating a wound which was bleeding slightly. It wasn't exactly clear how deep the wound was from my position, but it probably did hurt her quite a bit.
Despite this, she smiled slightly as she fished out a pair of glass flasks from her saddlebag. Inside was a pinkish red liquid, swirling around as if someone was constantly stirring it with a spoon. Popping off the lid, she was about to drink the liquid when the sound of hoofsteps coming towards us made her freeze up and press herself closer against the tree.
Green Glow came into view as he walked past us, using a piece of cloth to wipe off his blood-soaked curved blade. He turned as he spotted us and glanced over our wounds. "The coast is clear, lady Clover. All six of them are dead. I must commend Chester on taking that stallion down in such a creative way while I was occupied elsewhere," he chuckled.
Sweet Clover nodded absentmindedly and downed the healing potion in one go. It took quick effect as the wound closed itself, pushing the bloodstained splinter out and dropping it onto the ground. Rubbing the spot where the wound had been moments before, she pulled herself up and stood shakily on her legs for a moment, before wobbling her way over to me and wordlessly offering me the other bottle.
I did not like it, but I was not in a position to refuse her offer. Less than a minute later I was back up, standing on four legs without any pain or wound to impede on my movement. "You have my gratitude, lady Clover."
She gave me a weak smile and nodded. "Of course."
"Are we good to continue then?" inquired Green Glow, "The building's interior seemed clear from what I glanced at."
Sweet Clover turned away from us to look at the weathered mansion, seemingly ignoring the dead bodies lying in front of it. "Yes, let us continue. There is work yet to be done. Do stay on guard please, just in case."
Having gathered our thoughts, the three of us approached the old estate, allowing for a better view at the details of the structure. At one point in time it must have been a very charming yet stately mansion, now it was nothing more than a dead husk. A crumbling reminder of what once was. Yet, though worn by time, it still stood upright and relatively intact.
"Those bandits sure knew how to make a home a home," Green Glow joked.
Sweet Clover looked around as we stepped onto the porch. "Where... where did Chester go to?"
The diamond dog leaned out of one of the broken windows in response. "Looting ponies."
"Did you get hurt in the fight at all?"
Chester merely shook his head and raised his bloodied paw, holding a golden necklace with a blue gem embedded in it. "No wounds. Only shinies."
I cracked a small smile. Diamond dogs were amusing creatures at times. So easily pleased by gems and other things shiny. Lady Clover, on the other hoof, did not seem too pleased by his find, but did not comment any further on the dog's antics as she stepped through the doorway and headed inside. I began to wonder whether or not she had a connection to this place.
The interior was just as weathered as what we had seen outside. Without indoor lighting, we had to count on the light pouring in from the windows and doorway behind us to light our way. The hallway we found ourselves in stretched out in front of us, several doorways to other rooms lining both walls. Clover seemed uninterested in whatever was inside those rooms as she just walked past them without so much as glancing at them. A lounge, a dining room, an office, some type of gallery... plenty of rooms one could look around in for whatever it was we were here for. No more bodies though, perhaps they were located upstairs.
I cleared my throat, breaking the silence. "What is it we are searching for, lady Clover? If you'd tell us, we could split up and-"
"No," she interrupted me, "I do believe I am quite certain of where we must go, doctor Sfax. Downstairs, to the basement level." Pausing momentarily as it got too dark to safely continue, she dug into her bags once again and pulled out a strange mechanical looking lantern, lighting it and allowing us to see where we were going again. It didn't look like it used magic, so it was probably earth pony design.
I cast a glance at Green Glow, but he did not seem very fazed, content to simply follow the lady as she made her way down the hallway.
We stopped as we reached a stairwell heading both up and down. It looked relatively intact despite its age. "This isn't the one I used to head down to the main level, but it looks sturdy enough. Still, we should take it slowly and go one by one." Green Glow commented as he eyed it. "Looks dark down there... the first floor was actually properly lit up by those bandits."
Without saying a word - not that she could talk properly while holding that strange lantern - Sweet Clover descended down the stairs into the darkness below.
I carefully went down next once she had reached the bottom floor without breaking anything. The basement was... spacious. It was hard to see as the lantern wasn't nearly powerful enough to light the entire thing up, but it seemed like it covered more ground than the actual mansion itself. It seemed to be used as some sort of storage space as barrels and crates were stacked neatly on top of each other. I thought to myself that that perhaps this is what Sweet Clover had her eyes set on. Pre-war supplies.
I had reached the bottom without breaking anything and heard Green Glow descending next as I looked around the room again. "Is this what you were looking for, lady Clover? Whatever is inside those barrels? Those crates?"
She had set the lantern down on the ground while waiting for the others to descend the stairs and shook her head. "No, pre-war food does not interest me, doctor."
Her secrecy surrounding this whole thing was beginning to bug me and I let out a sigh, to which she raised a brow in response as she continued, "is there something you wish to say?"
"You have led us all the way here, but you still refuse to tell us what for. What are you looking for in here, lady Clover? You clearly know something more about this mansi-"
"This estate belongs to my family," she interjected.
I blinked in surprise, not sure how to respond to the mare's claim. Green Glow and Chester had made their way down as well, catching on on the conversation.
"Before the war, my ancestors lived here in this very building. They escaped to a Stable when the world ended." She continued, "years later, when their Stable was opened again and its inhabitants spread out into the wastes, their great grandchildren settled down in Tenpony Tower. My family has lived there ever since, never returning to their ancestral home."
"Until now," Green Glow added.
She smiled - seemingly far less tense than before - and nodded in response, "Until now."
"Were your ancestors pegasi too?" I questioned. I knew her father and brother were both pegasi, but had no knowledge regarding her mother or any before them.
"Most of them were, yes. Though at the time my seventh great-grandfather was married to an earth pony, which is why they lived on the ground rather than in a cloud mansion."
I shook my head, "That still does not answer the question I have in mind."
"Then do allow me to explain," she said as she picked up the lantern with a hoof and began to slowly walk ahead on three legs, "Before the apocalypse occurred, one of my ancestors was working on a certain project. Admittedly, I do not know much about it, but I do know it was dubbed 'Project Aeon' and that an enormous amount of money was poured into it. A large part of my family's sizable fortune at the time, in fact."
"So we've come to this place to find out more about it?" I inquired.
"Yes. Or rather, to seek out the location where this whole operation took place," she responded as she stopped in front of a closet, opening it up and revealing a storage for bottles of wine.
Green Glow licked his lips at the sight, but Sweet Clover didn't pay any heed and set down her lantern on the ground, then began to poke around in the closet, pulling at some of the bottles of wine for reasons unknown to me. The stallion followed her example and wrapped one of the bottles in telekinetic light, attempting to pull it out.
It didn't want to come out.
A loud mechanical click could be heard as he tugged it and suddenly, the wall behind the closet began to move. Like a massive door made out of brick, it swung inward, revealing a large hallway behind it. The hallway was lit up and had a surprisingly clean steel floor. The walls were also covered with steel plating and a faint mechanical whir could be heard coming from behind them.
I looked at Green Glow, mouth open in awe. He seemed surprisingly unfazed. "Look everypony, I found something."
Sweet Clover chuckled and stepped inside first, "Come, there is work to be done."
The hallway was completely undecorated save for a terminal built into the wall at the end with a large circular vault-like door next to it. The door reminded me of the cog-shaped variants Stable-Tec Stables used.
Stopping in front of the terminal, Sweet Clover motioned at it with a hoof and spoke up, "Mister Glow, if you could please work your magic."
The unicorn stallion nodded and stepped up, getting to work on the terminal by using his telekinetic magic. "Let's see here... I'll need a moment to work this out," he said as he typed away on the pristine keyboard.
I carefully touched the vault door with a hoof as he worked. The steel casing was cold, unnatural. I suspected it was infused with magic enchantments, given how fond ponies were of using arcane magics for just about everything. Equestria was filled with gems, which was a true blessing for ponies. Gemstones were capable of conducting magic very well and thus made for excellent spell catalysts. The only other common substance better than gemstones when it came to conducting magic were unicorn horns; natural catalysts which allowed said unicorns to easily cast spells without needing any sort of aid aside from intense training and practice. I knew there were also substances which resisted magic and made for bad conductors, though I was no expert on the subject. Still, these were things you picked up on when living among ponies for years on end.
CLICK
My train of thought was interrupted by the vault door being unlocked. Quite loudly so.
Green Glow grinned, "Not a hard nut to crack after all. The password was 'Typhoon'."
"Typhoon..." Sweet Clover mumbled to herself before she perked up and looked at Green Glow. "Mister Glow, please open up the door. Let us see what is inside of this 'nut' you cracked."
With a press of a button, the heavy steel door slowly began to swing open outward. The opening in the wall began to grow bigger as the door moved further and further. I could see nothing but darkness ahead. Darkness and... a small red light suspended in the air. I narrowed my eyes and tried to distinguish anything at all in the dark void ahead, there was simply no way of doing so without moving in with some light.
Another red light appear, a few meters to the left of the first one.
And then a bullet tore into my leg. Followed by a storm of bullets being sent our way. Before I could so much as move or even fall to the ground in agony, everything went black.
The zebra stallion collapsed as dozens of bullets perforated him in a matter of seconds. Those seconds felt like ages to me as I stood frozen in shock, my mind having completely shut down. Green Glow yanked me out of the way just in time using his telekinesis, a hail of bullets impacting the steel floor where I had just stood.
"Miniguns!"
He shoved me against the steel plated wall, pressing himself against it too to escape the view of our assailants. The miniguns ceased to fire as Chester, too, only barely managed to escape the same fate that befell the zebra doctor and left whatever was shooting at us without targets. Some of the bullets had grazed him as he leapt out of the way, but it seemed like nothing serious.
FWUMP
An explosion sent me flying.
For what seemed like an eternity, I could see nothing but a blurry version of what had been the room I was standing in moments before and heard only a high pitched whine - the sound of my ears crying out in agony - to accompany it. As I struggled to remain conscious, my mind was racing with a thousand panicked thoughts. But even that was not enough to keep myself in a conscious state, as I eventually felt myself slipping away into a world of darkness.
Author's Note
Thank you for sitting through the whole thing.
Please let me know where and how to improve in the comment section below. Pointing out any and all errors would be a huge help in improving my writing. Criticism is the only way forward.
